


Rollerskating With A Prince

by starstruck_xavier



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxious Virgil, Fluff, Imagination, M/M, Rollerskating, Roman is a good friend, and it has positive effects on virgil dwdw, anxiety medication, but only mentioned, character thomas mentioned, like feather light hfghdfhd, mindscape, thomas takes anxiety medication, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25667647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck_xavier/pseuds/starstruck_xavier
Summary: Roman creates a roller rink in the imagination, and he spends some quality time with Virgil to help him destress.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Rollerskating With A Prince

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you like this!! my tumblr is starstruck-xavier and my wattpad is also starstruck_xavier so you'll find this there too <33

Virgil’s fight-or-flight reflexes are starting to kick in.

When Roman burst into the common room of the mind palace the previous day and announced that he’d made a rollerskating rink in the imagination (before immediately passing out, because he just conjured an entire rollerskating rink), mixed reactions were passed between Virgil, Patton and Logan. Patton was excited to try, but sheepishly admitted that he had a hunch he’d be terrible on wheels. Logan decided that the last trip he made into the imagination was stressful enough and that he had planning to do, anyway. Virgil… well. He didn’t know if he was really up for it, but if Roman expended all of his energy just to make a skating rink, it had to mean something to him if someone else was willing to skate with him. As the anxious trait sat on the floor next to Roman’s unconscious form, keeping him company, he thought about all the things that could go wrong.

First off, Virgil has never tried rollerskating in all of Thomas’ life. Sure, Thomas had skated before, but all Virgil did was flinch violently and yell from the mind palace couch every time he stumbled. It seemed that Patton and Roman had fun, so the memories in Thomas’ mind are positive, but not even Logan’s reasoning about how difficult it is to fall if you lean forwards could calm the nerves. It would be even more nerve-wracking for Virgil if he was the one in those skates. Secondly, thinking back on Thomas’ rollerskating experience, the music was far too loud and the lights were just a little too flashy. If Roman had replicated this rink since it’s the only one Thomas is familiar with, the atmosphere would just give him a horrible headache. Thirdly, Virgil just knew he’d be bad on wheels. Logan had previously pointed out his bad posture which likely stemmed from his awkward sleeping positions, the way he never sits in a chair properly or how he hunches in on himself when he’s too nervous, trying to make himself as small as possible. In addition, he tends to flinch backwards from things, and if he knows anything about rollerskating, it’s that leaning backwards equals instant death. Perhaps not death, but it feels like it! The nervous side sighed, his breath lightly touching Roman’s fringe.

"Are you okay, kiddo?” Patton’s voice made him jump; he twisted around to see the paternal trait setting a glass of water on the nearby table. "Oh, I'm sorry for scaring you, bud. You just look a little nervous.” he sat down to face Virgil, on the other side of Roman.

"Oh, I'm okay.” Virgil only half lied, but noticed how Patton seemed to catch onto it. “I'm thinking about it. Rollerskating. I might try it, but you remember how I was when Thomas did it.” He laughed nervously, pulling at his jacket sleeves.

"You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Virgil.” Logan’s voice caused him to flinch once again. He’d forgotten that he was still there, leaning into the arm of the couch closest to Roman. “I'd recommend it even less if you’re already feeling jumpy.”

Virgil took a deep breath to clear some of the anxiousness from his head. "I might be fine once Roman comes back around. Besides… I want to.” He looked down at Roman’s peaceful expression. "It might make me less terrified for when Thomas does it again, if it goes well.”

“I'm sure it will, Virge.” Patton smiled encouragingly. “Roman always makes sure we’re safe when we go into the imagination, right?” From the couch, Logan hummed in agreement. Virgil nodded.

“I'll try it once Roman’s recovered.”

Once Roman did begin to stir, Patton handed him the glass of water he’d poured for him while Logan encouraged him to not immediately rush back to the imagination to skate, instead allowing him to pick a movie to watch before going to bed. It was only him and Virgil watching, though, as the other two decided to call it an early night. It had been an exciting day; Patton was all tuckered out while Logan was ready to secure these long term memories for Thomas before resting. Virgil wasn’t feeling sleepy, and he wanted to watch Tangled, so he sunk into the couch with Roman as the title screen began to play.

"I get that you can conjure a lot of stuff, but did you really have to use all your energy to build the entire rink at once?” He looked over at Roman, observing his awake yet still tired looking form.

"Okay, so I may have gotten a little too excited.” Roman laughed. "I thought I was able to handle it, anyway. I felt fine when I got back!”

"Until you passed out.” Virgil added, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Until I passed out. But, hey, it’s all done and I think it was worth it! What do you say about joining me tomorrow, Stormcloud?”

"I— I mean,” Virgil felt the nervousness building up again, even though he’d basically sealed his own fate by telling Logan and Patton that he’d do it. "I want to, but don’t expect me to be any good at it.”

Roman grinned excitedly. "That’s okay! I can teach you. Don’t worry about it, it’s super easy.”

"You just told Thomas’ anxiety not to worry.” Virgil tried to bite back his playful smile. "But, yeah. I'll try.”

And now here he is, the next day.

Virgil has to admit he’s shaking, just a little bit. The rink looks similar to the one Thomas had visited before, but Roman is considerate enough to play soft Disney tunes at a very low volume and light up the place to suit Virgil’s needs. It doesn’t entirely calm his anxiety, though. He sits on one of the benches which surrounds the skating area, rolling his black and purple skates back and forth, reminding himself of the breathing techniques he’d learned.

"Whoa there, Thundercloud. You’re practically vibrating.” Roman sits next to him and places his own white and gold skates on the floor. "It’s gonna be okay. We can stop whenever you want to.” He holds his hand out as a comfort offering, but rather than just taking it, Virgil finds himself slumping into Roman’s side entirely.

“I'm just nervous.” Virgil’s voice hikes up an octave, only proving his understatement further. Roman smiles sympathetically and runs his hand up and down his back smoothly.

"And that’s completely understandable, but there’s no need to be. Once you’ve made it around a few times it just gets easier and easier.” Roman speaks soothingly. "You can hold onto me as long as you need.”

Virgil straightens up again as Roman bends down to put on his skates. He continues to roll his own skates around, trying not to focus on how easily the wheels go across the ground. Inhaling slowly, he looks up at the rink. At least there are half-walls to hold onto. It isn’t long, though, until Roman stands up without so much as a stumble on his wheels and offers his hands to Virgil.

"My fight-or-flight reflexes are starting to kick in.” The anxious trait mutters, pulling himself up slowly and holding onto Roman like a lifeline.

"Just relax, Virge. Here,” The prince holds Virgil tight around his waist with one arm. "You can hold onto the wall. I'm gonna teach you the form.”

Virgil grips the wall and lets Roman pull him along to the rink entrance. "Form?”

"Yeah. Since it’s your first time, just try walking like you normally would.” Roman imitates what he said by lifting up his skates with each step. "C’mon, you can’t just let me pull you around the whole time.” His voice takes on a teasing tone, squeezing him ever so slightly to remind him that he’s not going to fall. "You can do it, I've got you.”

"Uh-huh,” Virgil begins to walk with Roman, seeming slightly more at ease when he doesn’t immediately fall and die (a little overdramatic of him, but that’s how he feels in the moment). As they approach the rink entrance he is at least walking, even if he still holds onto the wall and hunches into himself protectively. Roman, on the other hand, stands as tall and regal as usual, having no problem with the skates at all. "How are you so good at this?” Virgil breathes, exasperated.

Roman smiles fondly as he leads Virgil into the rink itself, beginning to pick up the pace just slightly as he lets Virgil be closest to the wall. “I've skated before, on ballroom floors and the like, but never a roller rink. I did that quite a few times, actually, until it occurred to me that I could make a place that’s specifically designed for skating.” He starts to skate a little faster, causing Virgil to yelp and tighten his grip on him.

"Wh— Why are we going faster?!” Virgil stills the movement of his legs in a brief spike of panic, which causes another moment of him just being wheeled around by the prince. Although, he can’t say he doesn’t like it.

"We’re not even going that fast, Sunshine!” Roman smirks, earning a scoff from Virgil. "It gets easier to push yourself forward when you’re going faster. Here, lean forward and push your skates outwards, like this.” He replicates the movement, watching as Virgil’s skates begin to move in a similar fashion. "You’ll move from side to side, that’s how you actually skate.”

They only slow to turn a corner together. Virgil still grips tightly onto the wall, but the tension leaves his shoulders and his movements seem less shaky, while Roman keeps a comfortable speed for him. Eventually they reach a small box-like seating area by the wall, placed so that it’d be awkward to hold onto the wall while going around it, so Virgil feels a small spike of nervousness. However, Roman senses this and slows to a halt by the seating area to allow Virgil to sit.

The nervous trait breathes a sigh of relief as he shifts his weight off the wheels. "That went… better than I thought it would.” He looks up at Roman, who’s still standing with a perfect form.

"Certainly!” Roman praises him, brushing his fringe out of his eyes. "I think you’ll learn fairly quickly, Virge. You can take a rest if you want, I'm just gonna skate around a few times.”

Virgil brings his legs up onto the box to cross them as Roman glides away. The prince leans forward to propel himself further, very quickly finding himself at the other side of the rink. With a flourish, he spins around a few times for dramatic effect before continuing around the edge. He flashes a smile at Virgil when he passes the box again, making him chuckle at his theatrics. After a minute of watching, Virgil uncrosses his legs and places his wheels back on the floor again.

"Ready for round two?” Roman slows to a halt and sits next to Virgil.

He nods. "I don’t think I'm feeling as nervous this time around.”

"That’s exactly what I wanna hear.” Roman smiles warmly. "I hoped something new and exciting would help you to relieve some of the stress you’ve been feeling lately.”

"Oh?” Virgil tilts his head curiously, but then remembers that these past few weeks haven’t been the best for him. There was a delay when Thomas had to get his medication refilled and so there were a couple of days where the anxious side felt too jittery, disoriented, unable to focus on anything. His memories of being in that state are hazy as he’d spent most of the time trying to sleep (though more often than not his dreams transformed into nightmares), but the relief he felt along with everyone else when Thomas got to take his meds again is definitely something to remember. He hums thoughtfully. "Yeah, I didn’t have the best time last week. But, despite the anxiety I felt before, I feel…” His eyes meet with Roman’s for a moment. "I feel better. Thank you for doing this, Princey.”

A look of pride colours Roman’s features, the kind of look that a child has when they really impress their parents, one of awe, something amazing looking that fills Virgil with warmth. He can see now, how much the creative trait has really put into this place to make him feel at ease. The soft Disney tunes have transitioned into those lo-fi beats that Virgil always loves to listen to when he can’t sleep, and the lights are as soft as ever, bright enough to be able to see the entire rink but not harsh on the eyes at all. Then, he notices the colour scheme. There’s white and gold patterns on the floor and the half-wall, but the ceiling and main walls are black with swirls of purple, making the place look contrasted but also all the more mesmerising.

Roman created this place just for the two of them.

The prince follows Virgil’s gaze as a giddy happiness builds up in his ribcage, intensifying his grin, then eventually he pushes himself up to a stand again and reaches out his hands to hold onto the emo’s sweater paws. "Let’s perfect your form, and then we can see if you can let go of the wall.”

They would then make a few more rounds around the rink, stop to rest for a few minutes, and repeat the process for a few hours at least. By the time they’ve both tired themselves out, they’re leaning into each other’s bodies on one of the benches outside the rink, just enjoying each other’s company, and Virgil’s never felt more relaxed from something that he thought would always terrify him.

This could become a regular thing.


End file.
